Dayton’s Obi Toppin wins Wooden Award. KU’s Udoka Azubuike was a finalist
Dayton sophomore Obi Toppin has won the John R. Wooden Award, presented to college basketball’s top player, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Tuesday on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
Toppin, who averaged 20.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season at Dayton, emerged from a group of five finalists that included Kansas senior Udoka Azubuike. The other Wooden finalists were Luka Garza, Iowa; Markus Howard, Marquette; and Myles Powell, Seton Hall.
Toppin, a 6-foot-9 forward from Brooklyn, New York, earlier had been named national player of the year by The Associated Press and the NABC. He also won the Naismith Trophy as awarded by Atlanta’s Tipoff Club. Garza was The Sporting News’ player of the year.
Azubuike, who hails from Nigeria, previously had been named a member of the 10-player Wooden All-America team, along with KU sophomore point guard Devon Dotson.
Azubuike, the Big 12 player of the year, averaged 13.7 points and 10.5 rebounds a game for the 28-3 Jayhawks. He led NCAA Division I in field-goal percentage at 74.8%. His career percentage of 74.4% broke the all-time Division I field-goal percentage record previously held by UCF’s Tacko Fall (74.0%).
Toppin, meanwhile, was Dayton’s first consensus All-American. He led the Flyers to a school-record 29 victories.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Dayton’s Obi Toppin wins Wooden Award. KU’s Udoka Azubuike was a finalist."
